My what big kids we have!

The babies have gone a couple 4 hour stretches between feedings and we are hoping to get them to doing that every time. An extra hour sleep would be AMAZING at this point! Last night all but Brady did a 4 hour stretch he thought he needed to eat every couple hours and did it ever show at his weigh in this morning...he gained 10oz since Monday!

Our home health nurse came today to meet the babies and check in on their weights, I think she was pleasantly surprised to see them all doing so well and gaining at a perfect rate. Everyday we are so grateful for how healthy all four of them are, it is very rare to have a preemie with out having any health issues and even more rare to have four. We talked about things that they should be doing between birth and 6 weeks and they are doing them all already without correcting their age. They all can lift their heads and turn them side to side when on their belly and back, it amazes me! They love tummy time and most of the time after playing for a bit they end up falling asleep on their belly. I wish that they could sleep like that at night they sleep best on their bellies. Here are their latest weights...

Matthew 7 lbs 4 oz (up 9 oz since Monday)
Brady 8 lbs 5 oz (up 10 oz since Monday)
Aubrey 5 lbs 10 oz (up 6 oz since Monday)
Cameron 6 lbs 1 oz (up 5 oz since Monday)

I was thinking that having preemies they would stay small for quite awhile but I was so wrong. They are all already out of the preemie sized clothes and Brady needs me to dig him out some 0-3 month stuff for him and they haven't even reached what would have been their due date yet. I think I need to find a time machine to keep them small awhile longer!

Next week is Ben's final chemo treatment! We are hoping that his pet scan and blood work show that he is in remission and ready to start feeling well again. I know that he will be able to enjoy the babies much more when he feels like his old self. His physical therapist said his strength in his legs is starting to get better so we are hoping that there is hope for a recovery of that as well. It has been quite a year for our family and we are ready to go into 2010 healthy and happy!

Our first outing

Yesterday all the kids had pediatrician appointments in St. Johnsbury and amazingly we made it there on time! It was quite a chore getting 4 babies ready and loaded into the car thankfully we had my mom here to help. The doctor checked them all over and confirmed that they are perfect, LOL! Cameron's hernia incision looked perfect so he didn't have to go with me and Aubrey to Dartmouth today. They are all growing so quickly their latest stats are:

Matthew 6 lbs 11 oz
Brady 7 lbs 11oz
Aubrey 5 lbs 4 oz
Cameron 5 lbs 12oz

After the pediatrician we went to Walmart and everyone looked like it was some sort of circus show at all the babies in the strollers. Luckily everyone kept a look but don't touch approach in the check out line but 3 registers closed down to come take a peek at the babies.

Today my dad, Aubrey and I went to Dartmouth for her eye exam while the boys stayed home with Ben, my mom and Marlene. Aubrey did great on the ride and did better at her eye exam than I did. As soon as she started crying so did I, I hated seeing her eyes clamped open and her uncomfortable. The good news is that her eyes are getting to the mature stage and they don't think she will need any sort of surgery but she gets rechecked in 2 weeks.

Picture Day

1st Family Picture


Matthew


Brady


Cameron


Aubrey


Four little angels


Who's who?


Double duty

WE'RE HOME!!!

The babies and I gave Ben quite a surprise last night when we showed up at home at 7:00. He didn't expect us because Cameron had failed his car seat test but one of the nurses had him try a car bed and he passed!

Kate and I picked Cameron up at the hospital then went and got my mom's car loaded up and the other babies and we were on our way! It was a long ride, the car bed takes up 2 seats so I sat on a milk crate in the back so I could keep an eye on the kids while Kate drove.

We had to stop and get them out of their seats every hour so our first stop was in Concord at Michael's. People were in amazement that there were four of them and everyone asked questions about them. Next we stopped at Allison's office to change and feed them all then finally home. They all slept well and adjusted to the new surroundings.

I was given a great surprise when I got home too. Our friends and family did a beautiful cleaning on our house. Our dryer was burning up so my mom got us a new one, thank god, I don't know what we would do without one of them. We had a new microwave and toaster oven, a new step on the porch and a new bedroom that looks like it came straight out of Extreme Makeover!

We don't know how to even begin thanking everyone for all they have done for us, we are so fortunate! We are so happy to be home!

Peaceful night!

All the babies decided to treat us to sleep last night! The three at home were all asleep by 10 pm and only woke up at 1:30 and 4 for bottles. They decided to get up for the day at 7:30. Mom and Dad are relieved to get a great nights sleep!

Cameron is doing well even though he is still in the NICU until tomorrow. No spells for him since Saturday morning!

Ben is headed home today so Kate is here to help out and my mom came down for a bit too. The babies are going to be so spoiled this week! LOL!

Change of plans

Cameron had a bradyacardia spell last night and he stopped breathing for a few seconds at a time several times before it so they aren't going to let him come home on Monday. So we are on a five day spell count down now and hopefully will be home on Thursday.

Brady has adjusted to being home with us quite well. He is sleeping great at night and is no problem waiting his turn to eat or be held. He is such a good boy hopefully he stays that way. He is starting to be awake a little more during the day, maybe now he will stop getting so chunky from being so lazy.

Matthew is doing good too. He thinks 9 pm to midnight is play time but other than that he sleeps well at night and is alert for small periods in the day that seem to get longer each day. He sounds like a little chipmunk when he starts making noises and Brady does it back to him so I think they are speaking in their own language.

Aubrey is having a hard time adjusting to life outside of the hospital. She decided to stay up until 5 am this morning and now thinks she need to sleep all day long to make up for it. I hope she has a better night tonight.

Ben is headed home on Tuesday for his next to last treatment so Auntie Kate is coming to spend some time with the babies. Ben and I think we should stick Aubrey with her and I take the boys...LOL!

Remembrance Day

Today is pregnancy and infant loss awareness day. I am sure all of you know someone who has suffered this type of loss, keep them in your thoughts today. I know that
I am even more grateful for our little ones today.

It is looking like the 6 of us will fnally be coming home Monday! Aubrey is on the schedule for release tommorrow and Cameron on Monday. Let the fun begin!

Tomorrow is a big day

Cameron is going to have surgery on his hernia tomorrow morning. We thought it was planned for a week or so down the road but the doctors decided he was stable and that they wanted to do it right away. We are nervous about him being put out but at least this way he will be all healed by the time he is shipped home.

Aubrey got her feeding tube out today and the night nurses made her an adorable hat so she looked extra cute when we saw her this morning. She is on her way to eating as well as her brothers.

Matthew and Brady are coming home tomorrow! We are so excited!!! Two at a time will be a good way to ease us into parenthood. They both got the Synergist shot today to protect them from RSV and they did well with it. Because of the day care it put them at a very high risk for RSV and even with the shot we need to take precautions but at least they can be exposed somewhat to school aged children.

Matthew


Brady


Cameron


Aubrey

crazy week

It is always more hectic when Ben is gone and I am here with the four of them but this week was a little easier because Brady and Matthew are on demand feeding now which means we don't wake them up exactly 3 hours from the last time they were up to take their temp, change and feed them. Up until Tuesday we had 2 that were ready to be done up at a time and when I was alone last time I was running around like crazy! This week my mom came to help a day then my dad for two days and Tonya for the last day.

Wednesday all the kids had their hearing tests and passed with flying colors! Matthew and Brady got their circumcisions and Matthew was not at all happy about it! Brady could have cared less once the bottle hit his mouth. Both boys are getting their pictures done tomorrow.

Matthew did not pass his car seat test on Friday so he won't be coming home with us tomorrow. :( His oxygen level went down a little when he was sitting in it for the 90 minutes so they are going to repeat it tomorrow and if he passes then he is headed home on Tuesday.

Brady passed his car seat test but he had a bradyacardia spell on Thursday so he has to wait five days before he can be released. Hopefully he doesn't have anymore spells so he can come home Tuesday too.

Aubrey needs to be rescreened for her vision in a couple weeks because of her birth weight. Apparently if you are born under 2 kilograms you are at a higher risk for needing eye surgery but they think she should pass it because the first test was really good. She moved in to a regular crib yesterday and is holding her heat well. She is taking some bottles now but still has her tube in to finish up her feedings.

Cameron is taking almost all his feeding by bottle now but he still has his feeding tube in to take the rest just in case he tuckers out. He has been in a crib for a couple days now and is doing great! He has a small hernia in his groin area that they are considering doing surgery on to remove. Poor baby he seems to be the one that has to deal with all the obstacles.

Ben was able to get his chemo this week even though his white blood count was really low. He got the Nulasta shot this time around so hopefully it will boost his counts. That was the only thing that he did differently last time by not taking it. If the counts don't go up this time they want to try another bone marrow scan to see what is going on. Ben really doesn't want to do that because it was so painful the last time around. He really missed the babies this week and is on his way down no to go see them. I think that Cameron missed him too, he is usually so calm and whenever Ben is gone he cries a lot then he comes back and Cameron chills right out again.

Quick update and pictures

Matthew and Brady are scheduled for their circumcision and hearing tests tomorrow then all they have to do is pass the car seat test and keep eating and be apnea free a couple more days then they are heading home! They think by the end of the weekend Brady will be home then Matthew close behind. We may be transferring Aubrey and Cameron to a hospital closer to my aunt and uncles for the remainder of the time. They need to still grow some more and learn to take full bottles so they can start thinking of coming home but it will be a bit for them.

Brady


Aubrey


Cameron


Matthew


Cameron having a bottle!


Aubrey trying to keep up with her brothers!


Matthew and Aubrey side by side...a pound makes a huge difference!

Moving along...

Today we got to the hospital to find that Matthew and Brady have been moved into cribs! They are holding their heat well and eating most of their feeds with bottles so as long as there is no apnea spells they can look at coming home pretty soon. We are so excited about it!

Cameron took a whole bottle today for Ben so that is a big step for him, he doesn't want to be left behind I guess. Aubrey is trying hard to take bottles but she tires out very quickly because she is so tiny still.

They are all growing like weeds. Brady is up to almost 5 lbs 7 oz, Matthew is just over 4 lbs 14 oz, Cameron is 4 lbs 1 oz and Aubrey is 3 lbs 11 oz. Hopefully the two little ones grow enough that they will be hitting 5 lbs before they are discharged or we will have to go buy a couple new car seats for them that can fit into at 4 lbs because all the ones that I have are for 5 lbs and up.

I am going to try to get some pictures up tomorrow if I can get a chance! :)

What big boys!

Matthew and Brady have decided that they are big enough to take a bottle now and are loving it! Ben got to feed them both yesterday and Matthew lost some down his chin but Brady, that boy doesn't let any food go to waste and it is showing on his chubby cheeks! Ben tried burping him half way through the bottle and he was having none of that. Pretty soon he will be wearing newborn clothes as some of the preemie stuff is just too small already.

Last night they had their isolettes turned off so hopefully they are holding their heat and will be out of them and into open air cribs in a couple days. One more step closer to coming home!

Cameron and Aubrey are starting to get the hang of nursing but have no desire to have the bottle yet, I am sure that will come soon. They don't like to be shown up by their big brothers! They are still much smaller so they just don't have the energy to do as much yet.

Tonight is our CPR class then we are all set with things we need to do in order to bring them home. Now it is all up to them to eat and grow!

Family Meeting

We had our family meeting with the babies doctor and one of the primary nurses toda to find out how the babies are all doing. It seems like all we get is they are doing great but there hasn't been any changes in their routine since they moved into the intermediate care.

The doctor said they are all doing fantastic and passed all the screening for common issues that they see in preemies born at 32 weeks. She thinks they will need to be in their isolettes for another couple weeks so they can maintain their heat without any assistance. She also said they need to start eating from a bottle and nursing. Brady and Matthew are becoming pros at nursing and Aubrey and Cameron are figuring it out now too. Brady and Matthew have both tried a bottle for their primary nurse, Doreen (who we all LOVE!) and the each took 10 ml from it so far.

All the babies have tried a bath this week and they all loved it! Cameron gave me a little bath today when I was undressing him for his turn in the tub...naughty boy!

All the babies have grown some this week, here is the latest stats...
Matthew 4 lbs 9 oz 17.5"
Brady 4lbs 15 oz 18"
Aubrey 3 lbs 5oz 16"
Cameron 3lbs 11 oz 16.75"